Machine for treating hides and skins employing rotary rolls



Aug. 10, 1954 c. HALL 2,685,791

1 MACHINE FOR TREATING HIDES AND SKINS EMPLOYING ROTARY ROLLS FiledMarch 4. 1952 8 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor Aug. 10, 1954 c, H 2,685,791MACHINE FOR TREATING HIDES AND SKINS EMPLOYING ROTARY ROLLS Filed March4. 1952 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 N Inventor Clifford Hall Aug. 10, 1954 c. HALL2,685,791

MACHINE FOR TREATING HIDES AND SKINS EMPLOYING ROTARY ROLLS Filed March4. 1952 a Shee ts-Sheet 3 7% Z jm/snlor Clifford/1a 10, 1954 c. HALL2,635,791

MACHINE FOR TREATING HIDES AND SKINS EMPLOYING ROTARY ROLLS Filed March4, 1952 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 i w I Inventor Aug. 10, 1954 c. HALL 2,685,791

MACHINE FOR TREATING HIDES AND sKINs EMPLOYING ROTARY ROLLS Filed March4, 1952 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Inventor Aug. 10, 1954 c. HALL 2,685,791

MACHINE FOR TREATING HIDES AND SKINS EMPLOYING ROTARY ROLLS Filed March4, 1952 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 Inventor Clifford Hall 5 i may Aug. 10, 1954 c.HALL 2,685,791

MACHINE FOR TREATING HIDES AND SKINS EMPLOYING ROTARY ROLLS 8Sheets-Sheet '7 Filed March 4. 1952 Inventor C'Zif'fora Hall Aug. 10,1954 c. HALL 2,635,791

MACHINE FOR TREATING HIDES AND SKINS EMPLOYING ROTARY ROLLS Filed March4, 1952 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 ifig. 8 I 1 3313111702 Patented Aug. 10, 1954UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE MACHINE FOR TREATING HIDES AND SKINSEMPLOYING ROTARY ROLLS Application March 4, 1952, Serial No. 274,786

Claims priority, application Great Britain March 13, 1951 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for operating upon sheet material,and more particularly to machines employing rotary work treating rollsfor performing such operations as scudding, fleshing, unhairing and soforth on hides and skins.

In the following specification and claims the word hide is used toinclude both hides and skins in order to avoid excess verbiage. It isalso to be understood that the nature or type of work treating andcontacting rolls may be varied without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

The machine, illustrated herein and in which the invention is embodied,shows a rotary working tool, e. g. a spirally bladed cylinder journaledon the machine frame, an upper rotary feed roll arranged adjacent to thesaid bladed cylinder, a relatively movable lower feed or bed roll, apair of spaced swing arms in which the bed roll is mounted for rotation,and mechanism adapted to be actuated by the operator for effectingupward and downward strokes of the swing arms for the purpose of closingand opening the machine by movement of the bed roll into and out ofcooperative relationship both with the upper feed roll and the bladedcylinder.

In a machine of this kind the bed roll is adapted to be driven from theupper feed roll, whenever the machine is closed, so that a skinpreviously placed in position on the bed roll will be positively fedoutwardly toward the operator by the grip of the two rolls while it isbeing operated upon by the rotary tool. Upon the machine being opened,however, the drive to the bed roll is interrupted and the latter stopsrotating.

Now heretofore the mechanism for effecting the closing and openingmovements of a machine of the kind concerned has usually incorporated acumbersome half-cycle clutch motion and associated gearing mounted onthe base of the machine so that the said mechanism is practical lywholly located beneath the axis about which the swing arms turn. As aconsequence, this mechanism, being at least for the most part below theworking tool and the feed rolls, is subjected to the corrosive or otherdeleterious action of the water or other liquor with which the skins tobe dealt with are treated. Moreover, the considerable slush and dirtproduced by the wet fieshings or/ and hairs are difiicult to remove fromthe clutch mechanism and gegaring.

Fluid pressure means have heretofore been employed in opening andclosing the rolls of tannery machines but difiiculties have beenencountered such as marking of the work upon the rolls closing abruptly.Various expedients have been tried to control the rate of and to cushionthe opening and closing movements but these gave rise to otherobjections such as lack of provision for adequate adjustment tocompensate for wear of the rolls.

One object of the present invention is to provide an improvedarrangement of a cooperating work treating roll, a feed roll, and a bedroll in which the operating parts, actuated by fluid pressure, aremounted a considerable distance above the machine base and thereforeaway from the dirt and foreign matter which adversely may afiect suchparts.

Another object is to provide a machine in which the closing and openingmovements of the rolls are rapid for the major portion thereof andrelatively slow and with more power and control in other portions asrequired.

To these ends and in accordance with an important feature of theinvention, a work treating roll is fixedly mounted on a frame with anupper feed roll mounted above and adjacent thereto and a bed roll ismounted on upwardly extending pivoted arms for movement into cooperativerelation with the other two rolls. Another feature resides in a fluidpressure system for opening and closing the rolls, this system includingmeans for supplying the fluid at two difierent rates. Still anotherfeature pertains to fluid pressure means having bleed ports therein forcushioning the final portion of the opening movement of the bed roll.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood and readilycarried into practical eiiect, a specific constructional example of ahydraulic fieshing machine incorporating the foregoing and otherfeatures of the invention will now be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings, wherein,

Fig. 1 is a view, in elevation, of the front and left portion of amachine embodying the present invention, part of the machine being shownin section;

Fig. la is a view, similar to Fig. 1, but showing the right-hand portionof the machine;

Fig. 2 is a right-hand end View of the said machine in its opencondition;

Fig. 3 is a left-hand end View of the machine in its closed condition; 7

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view of the fleshing machine taken on theline IVIV of Fig. la;

Fig. 5 is a theoretical diagram illustrating a portion of the hydrauliccircuit;

Fig. a is a further showing of the hydraulic circuit partly shown inFig. 5;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view, taken on the line VIVI of Fig. '7,of one of the stop gear boxes incorporating an adjustable stop fordetermining the full extent of the upward movement of one of the swingarms;

Fig. '7 is a further sectional view of the said stop gear box taken onthe line VII-VII of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a sectional plan view of the box taken. on the line VIII-VIIIof Fig. '7; and

Figs. 6, '7 and 8 are drawn to a larger scale than the remainingfigures, and like parts are designated by similar reference charactersthroughout the drawings.

In the illustrated example, the main framework F of the machinecomprises a rectangular base frame i fabricated of H girders and channelirons, and two vertical end frames or members 2 which are mounted uponthe said base frame and are connected by one or more suitably disposedhorizontal cross frame members such as that indicated at 3 and also by asuitably fabricated cross frame structure "1 (see 1a). Upon the endframes 2 are permanently fixed two aligned bearings 5 having removablecaps 5a and in which are rotatably mounted the ends ta of (or trunnionson) a shaft 6 of a spirally-bladed fieshing cylinder or work treatingroll I. This cylinder is of conventional form, being furnished withsharpened helical blades '!a (see Fig. 1) arranged edge outermost andextending left and right hand at respectivel opposite sides of a centralvertical plane dividing the cylinder into two halves. At the right-handend of the machine the shaft t of the fieshing cylinder T is extended at$370 through the permaently fixed bearing 5 at that end and is furnishedwith a V-pulley 8 around which and a pulley 9 secured on the shaft ID ofan independent electric motor H are passed a plurality of V-sectionbelts l2. This motor is mounted upon a support i3 which is hinged at Mto a bracket 55 in turn secured upon the fiat top of the cross framestructure 4 serving to connect and brace together the upper ends of theend frames 2. The angular disposition of the hinged motor support I3 isvariable by screw means it (Figs. 1 and 53 to adjust the tension of thebelts l2 transmitting H the drive to the fieshing cylinder l".Immediately above but slightly in front of the fieshing cyl inder isprovided a top feed roll H which is of metal spirally grooved in such away as to pre sent sharp edges, for engagement with a skin being fed tothe said cylinder. The end portions [8a of the shaft E8 of the top feedroll ii are mounted in bearings l9 formed in the outer ends ofsubstantially horizontal arms 28 which at their inner ends are keyedupon short shafts 23 mounted to turn in bearings 22 (Fig. 1a) in the endframes 2. The horizontal arms 2e are located at the outer sides of theend frames 2. As shown in Fig. i, the inner ends of the short shafts 2iproject right through the end frames 2 and have keyed thereon upwardlydirected arms 9.3 disposed at right angles to the substantiallyhorizontal arms 29. As will therefore be appreciated the ends [8a of theshaft i8 of the top feed roll I? are mounted in what are, in efiect,bell crank levers. The upper ends of the upright arms 23 are pivotallyconnected with forwardly extending rods 2% which are slidable axiallythrough blocks 25 which, as shown more clearly in Fig. 4, are mounted toturn on the end frames 2, and are screw-threaded at their leading endsto receive nuts 26. Also, as depicted in Fig. 4, a comparatively strongcompression spring 27 arranged to surround each of the rods isinterposed between a washer 28 at the back of the corresponding nut 26and a further washer 2@ bearing on the front face of the relevantturnable block 25. The springs 2i are housed in cylindrical casings 36associated with the blocks 25, and the inner ends of the rods 2% arescrewthreaded to receive adjustable nuts 31 and loci: nuts 32 adapted tofunction as abutments for contact with the rear faces of the saidturnable blocks 25. The rear ends of the rods 2 are made adjustable inforked connecting members 33 whereby the rods are articulated to theupper ends of the upright arms 23. The construction and arrangement aresuch that the top feed roll ii is yieldable in that it can be moved upin an arcuate path against an adjustable spring load. As illustrated inFigs. 1 and 3, the lefthand end of the shaft I8 of the top feed roll iiis extended at lfib and fitted with a chain sprocket adapted to bedriven, through the medium of a chain 35, from a further sprocket 38 inturn arranged to be driven, through reduction gearing at 3?, fromanother independent electric motor 33 fixed upon the cross framestructure a at the top of the framework. An adjustable jockey or idlersprocket 39 may, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, be provided on the adjacentend frame 2 for varying the tension on the chain 35, according torequirements.

Beneath the fieshing cylinder or roll it is provided a pair of suitablyfulcrumed swing arms :33 formed with bearings ll in which are mountedthe ends of the shaft 42 of a bottom feed roller or bed roll43-preferably of rubber. The swing arms are located at the outer sidesof the two end frames 2 and. are rigidly secured upon the opposite endsof a cross shaft M arranged for turning movement within bearings 55 inthe said frames (see Fig. 1). The Swing arms 4G, moreover, are formedwith rearwardly directed tails 300. to which are secured bars 55carrying counterweights ll. The horizontal axis of the cross shaft 44 isdisposed beneath and very slightly in advance of the axis of thefleshing cylinder '1. The swing arms til, which are normally upwardlyinclined somewhat, extend forwardly toward the front of the machine. Asillustrated in Fig. 1, the shaft =22 of the bottom feed roll $3 isextended at Ma at the left-hand side of the machine and fitted with acoarsetoothed mangle gear 48 adapted, when the swing arms are swungupwardly to move the bottom feed roll =33 into cooperative relationshipboth with the top feed roll it and the fleshing cylinder l, to mesh witha second mangle gear 19 secured upon the shaft is of the top feedroller. In this way, whenever the bottom feed roll 63 is swung up intoits operative position it will be positively driven from, and in anopposite direction to, the top feed roll ll. The mangle gear 538 ismounted in such a way as to be capable of turning to a limited extentrelatively to the extension l2a, against the action of a cushioningtorsion spring 50 designed to take the shock. of engagement of the twomangle gears.

The outer extremity of each swing arm til extends in front of the bottomfeed roll it and is articulated to a rearwardly directed but upwardlyinclined piston rod Ed the upper end of which, as shown in Fig. 5, isprovided with a main piston 52 and, spaced a small distance down fromthe latter, an auxiliary or choke piston 53 having formed therein asmall axially extending bleed port 54. The two pistons 52 and 53 on eachpiston rod 5| are arranged to work in a cylinder 55 the upper end ofwhich is mounted to turn about a pivot pin 56 carried by a bracket 5'!bolted to the outer side of the corresponding end frame 2 near the topthereof. The lower end of each cylinder has secured thereto a coaxialtubular guide 53 for the relevant piston rod 5i, this guide being fittedwith a packing gland 59. In the lower end of each cylinder, moreover,there are formed, as depicted in Fig. 5, two ports 6i! and 5! which arespaced apart axially a distance approximately equal to the space betweenthe opposed lower and upper faces of the main and choke pistons 52 and53 respectively. The upper end of each cylinder 55, on the other hand,has formed therein a single port t2. The two axially spaced bottom ports(ill and 5! in each cylinder communicate with a pair of branch pipes 63and 64 which are connected to a common in pipe line 65 leading into aport 66 formed in the casing 67a of a fourway direction control valve Mof the piston type. In th branch pipe 53 is incorporated a one-way inline check valve 69 adapted to be opened in the direction of flow of oil(indicated by the arrow A in Fig. 5) passed from the direction controlvalve 6'! into the bottom of the cylinder 55 through the lowermost port65 therein; a similar one-way check valve l6 adapted to be opened in theopposite direction (indicated by the arrow B) is incorporated in thebranch pipe 64 for a purpose to be hereinafter described. The singleport 62 in the top or" each cylinder 55 is connected, by way of reverseline piping ii with a second port 12 in the casing 6'50. of the fourwaydirection control valve 61. The piston 68 of the valve 67 is operable,e. g. through the medium of links such as l3 and 14 and a bell-crank '55(Fig. 5), by means of a spring-influenced operating treadle located atthe front of the machine-centrally between the end frames 2 thereof. Itis to be clearly understood, however, that While in Fig. 5, links and abell-crank have been diagrammatically shown for connecting the valve 5'!with the treadle 75, this valve may, in practice, be disposed near to,and more or less directly connected with the said treadle. This latterarrangement is, as a. matter of fact, depicted in Figs. 1 and 4 whereinit will be seen that an arm ll secured upon the treadle spindle E8 isconnected with the piston valve 63. In the main the showing of thehydraulic system, in purely diagrammatic fashion, has been confined toFigs. 5 and So so as not unduly to complicate the remaining figures. Inany event, upon depression of the treadle it against the action of thespring it, the direction control piston 68, with its four axially spacedportions 63a, 68b, 68c and 68d, will be instantly shifted to or towardone end of the casing S'ia of the direction control valve 61, whereasrelease of the treadle it will effect instantaneous axial movement ofthe said piston,

under the spring action and in the reverse direction to or toward theopposite end of the valve casing.

The hydraulic system of the fieshing machine includes an oil reservoir Rin the form of a tank incorporated in the aforementioned cross framestructure 4 at the top of the machine. The tank acts as a stiffeningmember for the frame as well as a reservoir for fluid used in theoperation of the machine. Upon the top of this structure is mounted athird independent electric motor 89 6 which is located between the othertwo motors H and 38 and is coupled, by way of a flexible coupling 8!(Fig. 1), to the common shaft 82 of a twin pump assembly comprising ahigh delivery low pressure pump 83 and, side by side therewith, a lowdelivery high pressure pump 84. As shown in Fig. 5, the twin pump casing85 is fitted with two inlet pipes 86 and 87, one to each pump, pro-.iecting down into the oil contained in the tank R, the lower ends ofthese pipes being advantageously fitted with oil filters 88. The oiltank R is entirely enclosed, there being in the top thereof an air ventor breather 89 (see Fig. 1). For each of the two pumps 83 and 84 thereis also provided at the opposite side of the twin pump casing 85 anoutlet pipe, the two outlet pipes 90 and 9! leading, as depicted in Fig5, into a common pipe 92 arranged'in communication with a third port 93in the casing 61a of the direction control valve 67, which port isdisposed centrally between and in line With the two other ports I56 and#2 in the same side of the said casing. In the opposite side of thedirection control valve casing 61a are formed two still further ports(outlet ports) 94 and 95 which are comparatively widely spaced apart andconnected by a common passage 96 leading into an oil drainage pipe 5?extending down into the oil in the tank R. Branching off from thereverse line piping H connecting the direction control valve 61 with theupper ends of the cylinders 55 is another drainage pipe 98 which extendsinto the oil tank R and incorporates a one-way relief valve 99 designedto open at a predetermined pressure e. g. of 60 lbs. per square inch.This relief valve 99 accordingly controls the oil pressure available toeffect the opening stroke of the machine, and also the pressure of theoil when the machine is in the fully open position. In the outlet pipe98 connecting the high delivery low pressure pump 33 with the pipe 92leading to the direction control valve is incorporated aspring-controlled piston valve Hi0 arranged to be supplied with oilalong a pilot line I!!! branching off from the outlet pipe SI of the lowdelivery high pressure pump 84. In the outlet pipe SI is provided, inalignment with the pilot line IN, a manually adjustable relief valve 102the housing 103 of which is fitted with a drainage pipe I04 extendingdown into th oil in the tank R. The piston idea or" the springcontrolled piston valve is actuated by the oil in the high pressure pumpline circuit. The oil in this circuit on attaining a predeterminedpressure as controlled by the setting of the spring I65, actuates thepiston valve Hide, and connects a port H16 in the casing of this valvedirect to tank R, via a pipe itl, thus causing the unloading of the highdelivery pump 83, as and for the purpose hereinafter described. For thisreason it will be convenient to refer to the valve iflil as the lowpressure pump unloading valve. A further connection N18 is providedbetween the latter valve and the high pressure pump circuitincorporating a one-way check valve Edi: to isolate that portion of thevalve common to the high delivery low pressure pump ports H9 and Ill. Itis to be clearly understood that the direction control valve 61, thetwin pump assembly, the low pressure pump unloading valve It!) and theassociated relief and check valves 53 and [09 respectively are common toboth of the cylinder and piston arrangements for eifecting andcontrolling the movements of the swing arms 46 and hence also of thebottom feed roll 43 toward and away from the top feed roll IT and thespirally-bladed fleshing cylinder 1, according to requirements,appropriate pipeing being provided to make this possible.

Referring again to the swing arms 48, each of these is formed with ashoulder H2, adapted, whenever the arm is swung upwards, to come intocontact with a stop or abutment H3 the purpose of which is to determinethe full extent of the upward movement. Since the bearings E of thefleshing cylinder shaft 6 are permanently fixed, the stops H3 are madeadjustable to vary the extent of the upward movement of the swing armsfor the purpose not only of compensating for wear on the blades of thefleshing cylinder but also for varying the pressure on the work. Asshown in Fig. 6, each of the stops H3 proper is constituted by theleading end portion of a hori- Zontally disposed rod-like member H imounted for movement longitudinally within a stop box H bolted to theouter side of the relevant end frame 2 of the machine (see Figs. 2 and3). The rear end portion [Ma of each stop member He is exteriorlyscrew-threaded for engagement with an interiorly screwed sleeve I itmounted to turn in bearing H1 and H8 in the stop box H5. The stop memberH4 is prevented from rotating by means of a screw H9 which is fixed inthe box and extends into a longitudinal groove i2il formed in the saidmember. Referring to Fig. 6, it will be seen that the sleeve H6 haskeyed thereto a spiral gear i2] between which and an opposed flange 1[6a formed on the sleeve near the leading end thereof is interposed acoaxial compression spring 22. The sleeve H6 and hence also the stopmember H4 are capable of limited longitudinal sliding movement withinthe stop box i 55 and relatively to the spiral gear Hi. The said gear isarranged in mesh with a further spiral gear I23 which is secured upon across shaft 22% adapted to be rotated, for the purpose or" adjusting thestop member H i, by a handwheel 125 (Fig. 2) at the front right-handside of the machine, through the medium of a hand-wheel shaft 126 andintermeshing bevel gears H1 and ms. The cross shaft I24 serves toconnect the gearing in both stop boxes H5 at opposite sides of themachine, so that manipulation of the common handwheel [25 will result insimultaneous adjustnent of both stops H3. The construction is,

therefore, such that the swing arm stops 5 it, be- 5 sides beingadjustable, are capable of yielding when contacted by the abutments M2on the swing arms til-until the compression springs ii? are fullycompressed. The fully open position of the machine is determined by thepistons 53 contacting the lower ends of the cylinders 55.

The operation of the machine is as follows:

Assume, first that all three electric motors H, 38 and 8B are runningand that the machine is open as depicted in Figs. 2, 4 and 5, that is tosay with the bottom feed or bed roll 43, now stationary, in its lowestposition (separated to the maximum extent from the top feed roller H andthe fieshing cylinder 1) in readiness to receive a skin. In thisposition, the piston rods iii are fully withdrawn from the cylinders 55,the undersides of the choke pistons 53 are closely adjacent to but justabove the lowermost ports St in the said cylinders and the latter arefilled with oil at the prescribed pressure determined by the onewayrelief valve 99 in the drainage pipe 98 extending from the reverse linepiping N (Fig. 5). In addition to this, oil is prevented by the portion68b of the piston 68 of the direction control valve 61 from passing intothe in line piping 65, although the latter is in communication with theoil tank R, through the relevant outlet port in the valve casing 61a andthe associated drainage pipe iil. Moreover, oil pumped from th twinpumps 83 and 8 is being fed in to the reverse line piping II which atthis stage is shut off from the oil tank. The operator now places theskin to be operated on upon the bed roll 43 and depresses and holds downthe treadle it against spring action. As a consequence the piston 68 ofthe direction control valve 6? is instantaneously shifted so as toreverse the conditions, that is to say place the in line piping 65 incommunication with the pumped oil and open the reverse line piping H tothe oil tank R. With both the high delivery low pressure and the lowdelivery high pressure pumps 83 and B operative, the main and chokepistons 52 and 53 will be speedily forced up the fulcrumed cylinders 55,the oil in the cylinders above the main pistons 52 being simultaneouslydisplaced and forced back into the tank, thereby causing the swing armsit to be swung upwards until the shoulders i2 thereon make contact withthe preadjusted stops H3. As the stops commence to be pushed backagainst the action of the associated compression springs I22, the oilpressure increases, due to the increasing resistance to movement of themain and choke pistons 52 and 53 in the cylinders until the low pressurepump unloader valve H38 functions to cut out the high delivery lowpressure pump 83. When this happens the-final portion or" thepredetermined upward travel of the swing arms 4%} and compression of thestop springs I22 is effected by oil delivered solely from the lowdelivery high pressure pump 84, whereupon the full working pressure isbuilt up. As will be appreciated, immediately the machine is fullyclosed, i. e. the bed roll 43 is moved into cooperative relation bothwith the top feed roll ii and the fleshing cylinder '1 as depicted inFig. 3, the bed roll 43 will be rotated from th top feed roll ii byreason of interengagement of the mangle gears 48 and 49, with the resultthat the skin will be positively fed through the machine and operated onby the blades id of the rotating fleshing cylinder I. When the skin hasbeen dealt with, the operating treadle i6 is released so as to restorethe piston 68 of the direction control valve 8? to its originallydescribed position. Hence, the flowing oil is cut oft from the in linepiping and transferred to the reverse line piping H with the result thatthe main pistons 52 are forced down the cylinders and the swing arms iiiare swung down to separate the bed roll it from the top feed roll ii andso interrupt the drive to the bed roll and cause it to stop rotating.Meanwhile, oil beneath the choke pistons 53 is forced out of thecylinders 55 through the one-way in line check valves ill and thecorresponding branch pipes into the in line piping E5 and from thenceback into the oil tank R. When the choke pistons 53 have passed beneaththe ports El through which oil is forced out of the lower ends of thecylinders 55 as just described, further oil can escape only via thesmall bleed ports 5 3 in the choke pistons 53. This naturally slows upthe final stage of the downward movement of the swing arms 48 andprovides a dash-pot or cushioning efiect. In this way the swing arms itcome to rest without shock and the opening of the machine is therebysmoothly effected.

The hydraulic system includes a pressure gauge (not shown) by means ofwhich the pressure on the work and the load on the rolls can beascertained at a glance.

The framework F of the machine is so designed that the rolls I7 and 43and the fleshing cylinder 1 can be readily removed, as occasion demands.In addition to the important advantages of the fleshing machine asearlier described, the operator is able instantly to arrest or reversethe movement of the swing arms 40 at any desired point of their stroke,by the simple manipulation of a treadle, practically the entireoperating and controlling mechanism is located above the swing arms, thefeed rolls and the fleshing cylinder so that it is protected from thecorrosive or otherwise deleterious effects of water, fleshings, and

so on.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A machine for treating sheet material such as hides comprising aframe, a work treating roll journaled in fixed hearings on said frame,an upper feed roll journaled in arms pivoted to said frame, pivotedspring means acting upon said arms for resisting upward movement of saidupper feed roll, two upwardly extending and counterbalanced armsjournaled in the lower portion of said frame, a bed roll supported bysaid upwardly extending arms to cooperate with said upper feed roll andsaid work treating roll, and fluid pressure means connected to the upperends of each of said upwardly extending arms for moving said bed rollinto and away from cooperative relation with the said feed roll andtreating roll.

2. A machine for treating sheet material such as hides comprising aframe, a work treating roll journaled in stationary bearings fixed tosaid frame, a power driven feed roll mounted parallel with and adjacentto said work treating roll, two arms pivoted to said frame andsupporting a bed roll for opening and closing relation with said feedroll and work treating roll, and a fluid pressure system for swingingsaid two arms including means for supplying fluid at two differentrates.

3. A machine for treating sheet material such as hides comprising aframe, rotary work treating and contacting rolls mounted on said framefor relative motion into and away from operative positions, and a fluidpressure system for moving said rolls including means for supplyingfluid at two different rates.

4. A machine for treating sheet material such as hides comprising aframe, parallel work contacting rolls mounted on said frame, twopressure operated piston devices for moving one of said rolls into andaway from operative relation to the other rolls, and a fluid pressuresystem for operating said piston devices including bleed portsassociated with the said piston devices to cushion th final portion ofthe opening movement of the said one roll.

5. A machine for treating sheet material such as hides comprising aframe, a Work treating roll journaled on said frame, a feed roll mountedabove and in parallel relation to said work treating roll, two armspivoted to said frame and supporting a bed roll for opening and closingmovements relatively to said feed roll and said work treating roll, afluid pressure system including a piston device associated with each ofsaid two arms, and means for supplying fluid to each of said devices attwo different rates.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 14,375 Steer Mar. 4, 1856 1,215,866 Roche Feb. 13, 19171,587,945 Gebrath June 8, 1926 1,996,877 Niessen Apr. 9, 1935 2,033,154iSchettler Mar. 10, 1936 2,054,443 Pierson Sept. 15, 1936 2,418,913Stout et a1 Apr. 15, 1947 2,586,879 Stehling Feb. 26, 1952

